Shillong: Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday inaugurated a 252-bedded state-of-the-art facility Regional Cancer Centre at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) here in Meghalaya.
The Union Minister also inaugurated a new Under-Graduate Medical College, New Building of Nursing College, Hostels, 8 Modular Operation Theatres, a Virtual Autopsy and New Guest House at NEIGRIHMS.
Mandaviya also laid the foundation stone for a 150-bed Critical Care Block at the institute. Opposition Voice of the People Party (VPP) legislator, Heavingstone Kharpran and Director of NEIGRIHMS Prof. Nalin Mehta were also present.
Mandaviya said, “The new facilities at NEIGRIHMS will provide much-needed healthcare services to the people of the Northeast region. The Central Government is committed to improving the health infrastructure in the Northeast region and to providing quality healthcare services to the people of the region.”
He said that the new facilities at NEIGRIHMS will help to attract and retain medical professionals in the Northeast region.
Appreciating the work culture and cleanliness in NEIGRIHMS, he said that the government is committed to further develop infrastructure at NEIGRIHMS so that the institute continues to remain a hub for medical treatment, research & training of healthcare and allied healthcare professionals for the Northeast region.
Mandaviya stated that the central government looks at the Health sector through a holistic approach. “We are not only creating new and advanced medical infrastructure. We are also increasing the number of doctors and nursing staff. In the last nine years, the number of medical colleges has doubled in the country. 1,70,000 Health and Wellness Centres have been created across the country. We are also building one Critical Care unit in every district in the country”, he said.
The Union Government has not viewed the health sector in isolation, said the Union Minister, adding that it is not limited to hospitals or clinics but it is a broad subset that needs a holistic approach.
Speaking about the significant progress in the health infrastructure, Mandaviya informed that the number of MBBS seats in the country increased from 50,000 to one lakh seven thousand in just nine years, starting from 2014. For quality education, the National Medical Commission (NMC) was formed.
To ensure quality health, the government aims to develop a health institute of national importance in every state, similar to AIIMS. “It is our plan to develop NEIGRIHMS as an institute of national importance,” Mandaviya said.
Prof Nalin Mehta said that the new facilities will vastly improve healthcare facilities in NEIGRIHMS and will lead to increase in seats for MBBS and B.Sc. Nursing courses in Meghalaya. He further said that with the improvement of medical facilities in the Northeast region, people will not have to go far to other regions of the country for medical treatment.
Mehta said the new facilities will provide much-needed healthcare services to the people of the Northeast region.
